Happier
by celtics534
Summary: Sometimes a person can bring you overwhelming happiness, and for Harry Potter that person is Ginny Weasley. Edited October 2018


**Set a year and four months after the war. Harry hasn't talked to Ginny about their previous relationship yet. Huge thank you to** **gryffindormischief and Arnel for their killer edits!**

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Out of all the pubs in England they had to choose this one. The one where he, Harry, had taken refuge. There were so many other options for them to drink at, them being the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team. It wasn't as if Harry had an issue with the all-female team, on the contrary he had been to multiple games with the hope that they would win, but oddly enough Harry had no desire to be in the same enclosed space as the team. This was due to her, Ginny Weasley. Anytime he saw her his stomach twisted and coiled into knots.

He and Ginny had both been enraptured with each other during their later years at school, though it took Harry much longer to realize the incredibleness that was Ginny Weasley. He waited till she broke up with Dean Thomas, to get his chance to show her how he felt. Sure, he didn't do it in the way he had planned and ended up going a bit more public with his initial declaration, but it was effective. After only a few weeks of bliss Harry had to break up with her, so she would be safe. Protecting her was more important than his happiness. Now two years later he still hadn't mustered up the courage to see if she still felt anything for him. He made many excuses on why he hadn't talked to her about getting back together. At first it had been grief over Fred, Tonks, Lupin, and all the others lost during the war, then the fact that she was heading back to Hogwarts for nine months, then she had graduated and he had told himself he wanted to make sure she focused on training for the Harpies. Now here she was, on the reserve team for over a month.

To make things worse, it wasn't like he never saw her. Harry went to the Burrow for the monthly Sunday lunches, he talked with her often, they went out to dinners with Ron and Hermione. No matter when or where he saw her he could swear his chest was crushed by a ten-ton brick, just from the desire of being unable to hold her like he so desperately wanted to. Every time he heard her laugh, his stomach felt like it was full of fluttering Snitches.

Now here he was, again, stuck near Ginny Weasley, and her gorgeous red hair and her hypnotic laugh, and her sexy body... Harry could have sworn a clawed creature had started to crawl from deep within to grip at his heart. She was talking to the Harpies Reserve Keeper, her head thrown back from laughter giving Harry a clear view of the cluster of freckles positioned along the side of her neck.

 _Did I ever tell how much I love her freckles_? Harry thought, unable to draw his attention away from her and the utterly appealing milky column of her neck. _I should just go over and talk to her. It's not like we're not friends… and who knows maybe with a little liquid courage I might be able to see if she would be interested in me again._ Harry took another sip of his whiskey, in order to test his theory.

However, no matter how much of the alcohol slid down his throat, Harry couldn't make his legs take his weight; instead he remained in his chair. _This place is full of people, and I'm sure plenty of guys are going to take notice of her,_ Harry couldn't stop the bitter thoughts from forming. The world decided right then would be a good opportunity for some irony. A tall, well built, brown-haired man approached Ginny and her friend. He leaned on the table, making it so he was blocking the Keeper from Ginny's view. The man clearly wanted to be the center of Ginny's attention.

The creature that had arisen earlier started to growl and squeeze Harry's heart tighter. Oh, how Harry would have loved to pull out his wand and fire a well-aimed jinx at this bloke, maybe even make him grow a third limb or something. However, the rational and Auror part of Harry remembered that cursing someone wasn't really encouraged, especially within a Muggle establishment.

Harry was still able to watch Ginny's face, which had started to show discomfort, rapidly change to present her famous Weasley temper. Clearly, this guy was not earning any points with Ginny, which seemed to make the beast in Harry's chest loosen its grip. Harry knew he could play this two ways. One, he could let her deal with this bloke and possibly have to arrest Ginny for revealing magic to Muggles as bats flew from the git's nose, or option two, Harry could go pull her away from the tall git.

Taking a final swig of his drink he made the split-second decision to go and save her from the unwanted man. He moved quietly and efficiently around the crowds of people, something he had perfected between his Auror training and his overall dislike of people paying attention to him.

"As a live and breathe, is that Ginny Weasley?" Harry raised his voice only slightly from his normal volume. He didn't want to draw attention to her or him, not that any Muggles would look twice at their names, but he still hated drawing stares. Ginny's head turned around quickly to see who had called out her name. Her face showed the dislike she was feeling to the other man for only a second, until recognition occurred. She gave Harry a brilliant smile, something that made the monster purr and effectively made him go weak at the knees.

She turned her entire body, making it so the git received a mouthful of her vibrant red hair. "Well hello there, stranger." Ginny moved completely away from the flirting buffoon, moving over to Harry and wrapping her arms around him. "What are you doing here, Harry?"

Harry returned her embrace, the Snitches in his gut going wild. "I came out to get a drink." Ginny took her arms away from his back, and quickly leaned up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. Harry felt his face burn as she turned her head towards her friend and the flirter. He was never happier then at that moment that bars and pubs tended to have low lighting.

"Hey Holly, I'm gonna talk to Harry for a bit. I'll see you later." With a quick wave at her friend Ginny grabbed Harry's hand and led him over towards an empty corner table, Harry's old vantage point. She quickly sat down, and Harry took the chair opposite her.

"Merlin," Ginny sighed, as she rolled her neck back and forth making a pop sound occur. "I hate it when people like him interrupt a good time, and let me tell you, he thought he was the most amazing specimen in the world. Merlin, I wanted to Bat Bogey him so badly. The way he was looking at me." She shuddered. "It was like a Niffler looking a large pile of gold, pluck for the taking. I am not pluck for the taking."

Harry chuckled, "I saw him saunter over. He kind of reminded me of Malfoy."

Ginny nodded affirmingly, "Yeah, he had the Malfoy complex, alright. Git." Then, Ginny smiled at him. "Look at you, saving me again. You know what, I think that was just as dire of a situation as the Chamber to be honest."

Harry guffawed, Ginny joining in. The two sat in comfortable silence after their laughter subsided. Harry couldn't stop smiling. Just being with Ginny made him feel slightly giddy, the beast that resided in his chest content just being in her presence. Though to be fair the copious amounts of alcohol he had consumed may be helping.

Finally, it was Ginny who broke the silence, "Well, I have to buy my savior a drink. Muggle whiskey isn't as good as Firewhisky, but it will have to do, won't it. On the rocks, right?" Harry nodded quickly, and Ginny vanished into the crowd towards the bar.

Flattening his hair, Harry tried to calm his nerves. This was a perfect chance to talk to her. The lights were low enough they'd go unnoticed in their hidden corner. Not to mention Ginny seemed in a good mood, but what would he say? _Hey Ginny, I still fancy you, do you fancy me?_ Nope, that sounded stupid even in his own head.

He was saved from practicing his suave speech, when Ginny reappeared carrying two glasses containing dark amber liquid. She handed him one and sat down with her own. Taking a quick sip, Harry prized the way the sharp fluid slide down his throat, spreading warmth into his belly.

"So," Ginny started, smiling at him. "What made you decide to come to my rescue over there?" She gestured over to where bloke had cornered her.

"Well, I saw that jackass come over and you didn't look like you were happy talking with him, so I figured you might like talking to me a little better." Harry tried to sound confident, but he couldn't stop the waver in his voice at the end.

Fortunately, however, Ginny nodded her agreement to his side of the story. "You were right. That guy _was_ a jackass. Ironically he said his name was Jack, but he didn't have a very good arse."

Harry couldn't contain his snort. "Oh, yeah, and who do you know that has a good arse?" The words were out of Harry's mouth before he could even comprehend what he had said. He felt his face flush fast and fully. Apparently, he had had a little more alcohol than he had thought. His tongue was now running rampant, unchecked and unrehearsed. Even with his buzz he could foresee the potential issues arising.

He opened his mouth to apologize, but Ginny answered quickly. "I can think of a few good bums out there. Actually, my last boyfriend had a pretty fit bum."

Harry had never wanted to leave a room faster than he did right now. He did not want to talk to Ginny about any previous boyfriends. It felt like a knife had lodged into his chest. Harry looked around the room, trying to come up with a viable reason to leave or at least another topic, but Ginny pressed on, a smug smirk gracing her lips.

"You know Harry," Ginny said, her voice full of mirth as she took another sip of her drink. Against his own will Harry's eyes snapped to hers. Ginny placed down her glass and rested her elbow on the table, placing her chin on her hand, looking straight at him. "You and I haven't talked about relationships in a long time. Anyone you're interested in? Maybe I can give you some advice on how to talk with her, make it so you don't just stare at her from across a room."

Harry's fingers started to tap nervously against the wooden table they were crowded around. "No… not… don't… I'm good —" Harry was tripping over his own words.

Ginny interrupted his rambling, "But I should disclose that I haven't been on a date in a long time, so I may be out of practice on the best lines to use. Come to think of it," Ginny tilted her head slightly to the ceiling as if she heard a noise on the upper floor that was slightly annoying, "I haven't dated anyone since Hogwarts, so maybe I'm not the best person to give love advice."

Harry felt his brow furrow. How could such an amazing, beautiful, funny, sexy woman, not have men fawning over her twenty-four seven? Harry's intoxicated personality took over again, speaking for his entire being, in all its eloquent glory, "No, a girl like you… no."

Ginny looked back towards him, "A girl like me?"

Buzzed Harry spoke again without any forethought. "Yeah a girl so… so... "His voice trailed off. He just couldn't come up with a strong enough word to say how amazing she was. "So -" His hands joined in the confusion, waving around "so preternatural."

Ginny just looked at him for a solid ten seconds, then her chest started to shake with silent laughter. It took another ten seconds for her to be able to choke out, "Preternatural," Ginny's laughter continued for quite some time, allowing Harry to become distracted by her. Her long hair had moved and cradled her face, covering her neck. Harry always loved running his hands through her hair. Oh, and those freckles on her hand had always -

"Merlin, Harry," Ginny said once her laughter stopped, preventing Harry's mind from writing waxy poetry about the constellations and freckles. "I don't think I've ever been called that. Thanks, it's a real ego booster."

Harry just nodded, not looking her in the eyes. He took another large sip from his glass, which in retrospect may not have been the best idea if he wanted to articulate his thoughts well. He decided to just finish the drink and escape, before he could say anything else… senseless. He drained the rest of his glass and said, "Well, it was great, but I have work early in the morn – "

"Oh, no, you don't." Ginny grabbed on to his wrist as he started to stand, pressing right back into his chair. "We're gonna sort out your love life."

Harry really didn't want this. Every instinct in his body was telling him to leave. She was being too calm and natural about the idea of him fancying someone, which made him come to the conclusion that she didn't have feelings for him anymore. He didn't want to discuss other girls. All he wanted to do now was go home and sit on his couch, alone, maybe drink some of the Firewhiskey Ron had bought him for his birthday… then fall asleep and hopefully forget this night had ever happened so he could keep the delusion that he and Ginny still had a chance.

"No, it's alright," He said, trying to sound calm and not as if he was about to cry like a baby.

"How about this," Ginny said, moving her chair so she was on his side of the table. With her movement the air filled with her perfume, one-third of his Amortentia. Merlin, how that scent sent him all of a twitter. "I'll tell you about my love life first, that way we will be on a level playing field. Sound fair?"

She still had a vice grip on his wrist, and unless he violently pulled himself from her, Harry was stuck. He took a deep breath, readying his already fragile heart to be crushed. "Okay, fine."

Ginny grinned. She let go of his wrist and leaned back in her chair. "Great! Well, I've been into this guy for a while."

 _Here it comes_ , Harry thought

"Actually, I've dated him before."

 _Oh, this is getting worse. It's Dean again._

"The git broke up with me at a funeral, can you believe that. At a funeral!"

 _Wait_... Harry's mind was connecting the dots, but it was working too slowly. Ginny's smile turned into a devilish smirk as she watched his face go from confusion to comprehension.

"Wait..." This time Harry spoke out loud.

"Come on, Harry," Ginny said rolling the wrist to her free hand, encouraging him to continue his train of thought. The smirk now a full fledge beam

Harry felt warmth spread from his chest down to his toes. His face broke out into a smile of his own. He wanted to laugh, he needed to release some of the happiness that was filling his entire system. Instead he placed his hand on Ginny's cheek. She leaned into his touch, keeping her eyes lock to his. Her look sending his insides on fire and making the creature of his chest roar in pleasure.

Ginny closed the distance between them, pressing her lips against his. It was better than he remembered. It was like returning to his favorite place in the world. No, it was better than that, she was better than anything he could think of. She always had been.

She was the first to pulled back, keeping her face in close proximity to his, letting their breaths mix. "So, now it's your turn. Care to share about your love life?"

Harry's happiness induced laugh came out, "How about a demonstration?"

Ginny let out a chuckle as he closed the gap between them again. Harry felt lighter than he had in years. Happier than he had been since those sunlit days at after the final Quidditch match of his sixth year. He moved his hands so one was positioned at her waist, pulling her as close as he could, and the other carded her through her hair. Whiskey and her flowery scent filled his lungs, quickly becoming the only thing he cared about.

Harry placed his forehead against hers, "Merlin, I've missed you, Gin."

She let out a small laugh, "Well then, why didn't you speak up? I've been waiting for quite some time there, Potter. You and I both know patience isn't my strongest virtue."

Harry closed his eyes, nodding slightly, "I'm a git."

A very unladylike snort came out of Ginny, "Well, that's true. Do you wanna get out of here? Not that I don't like this place, but I wouldn't mind being the only two people in the room."

"It already feels like that for me."

Another snort came out of the red head, "Merlin, what a line. Maybe I do need to be retrained in the ways of chat up lines."

Harry stood up and offered her his hand, which she accepted at once. He led them to the door. As he walked, he pulled their entangled hands up to his mouth, pressing a light kiss to her knuckles. Harry noticed the guy from earlier watching him, his blue eyes showing surprise and jealousy. Harry wanted to give him a mock salute, but decided to instead keep his focus on Ginny, as he opened the door letting Ginny walk out into the night first, following right behind her as the pub door slapped shut.

All things considered, Harry was glad the Harpies had picked this bar.


End file.
